ra

Kael did not utter a single word, his knuckles stark white against the dark lea

ver me like a funeral shroud. I skipped dinner, ignoring the faint calls

n my soul refused to let me rest. My throat was burning, completely dry from the silent tears I had shed

und that sent a cold stillness through my veins. It was the heavy

fted through the thick oak

d to my mouth and lean against the wall. I could smell the cloyi

spered, her voice laced with poison. "She's a distraction

l to defend me, to tell her I was

completely indifferent, followed b

mply ceased to be, retreating into th

o my room, and grabbed my car keys with shaking hands. I

," Silas answered, his

the wet asphalt, a sound that mirrored the one trapped in my own throat, as I sped through the dark city stree

he empty lobby, and hammered my fi

a loose white robe. His amber eyes widened slightly at

d forward, grabbed the lapels of his robe, sto

through my nerves, arcing from the point of contact to the base of my spine. Silas gasped against

the rain. A profound, radiating heat ignited in my lower stomach, a biological fire that had nothing to do with

he ground effortlessly, his Alpha strength completely overwhelming my Omega frailty. He carried me

ion of our burning skin. It was not about tenderness; it was a frantic, almost bru

sure. My inner wolf purred, the deep emptiness in my chest suddenly filled with his dominating p

rous thought whispered through my mind: This was supposed to be reven

a cigarette, watching the gray clouds hang low over the city skyline. My mind buzzed w

ny, taking the cigarette from m

zily, blowing a ring of smoke into the damp air. "Tw

the faint purple bruises I

re," I said quietly, th

predator's smile that m

the top of my head. "Because the Priestes

s the old Priestess chanted the sacred verses. She dragged a silver blade across our palms, pressing our bleeding hands together to m

I felt like a completely different person. Silas kissed my cheek, promis

ir felt thick and suffocating. Kael was standing at the bottom of th

nded, his voice vibrating with the te

iced a stranger sitting nervously on the living room sofa. He was a low-ranking wolf, dress

I asked, poin

itchen, sipping a cup of h

hought it was time you settled down, so she arranged a meeting

like a physical blow to the stomach. They found

r laugh that echoed lo

ng directly into Kael's rigid, trapped eyes. "L

napped back as if struck. The air he drew in seemed to poison him on the spot. Hi

led the dark rum and cedar of a

aside. Right on the sensitive skin of my neck, sitting

lage as his skeleton fought to rearrange itself. He was on the verge of the Shif

d, the sound shaking the g

g forward to grab his arm. "We're going

war against his own biology. He closed his eyes, forcing his b

d something with perfect, painful clarity: Kael would always choose

ge set something